Virgin Media Community

[peaches]

My elderly parents are self-isolating due to CV and we live in another city so cannot go to help ☹️

They have 2 V6 boxes, both connect via wifi to the hub (which is on a different floor). It's not feasible to run an ethernet cable down the stairs either (!).

For the last few weeks the living room V6 hasn't worked properly, no menus, on demand, etc. and they cannot get through to speak to Virgin on 150. The other V6 (wifi too) is working fine.

I've talked mum through restarting both the hub and V6 and trying various things on the TV/V6 menu under 'help & settings' but all we get is the error codes C130 and N27 and the 'ethernet cable is disconnected'.

The website diagnostics test either doesn't show anything or more recently says it has an error of its own.

Can anyone please help.

I feel helpless not being there for them and the TV will at least help keep them distracted during these weird times.

[jbrennand]

They have 3 options to connect a "distant" V6 to the Hub & to the VM network. I realise this may not be possible without your help but here goes...

1) Connect the V6's (permanently) to the Hub by Cat6 cable (best solution by far and not really that difficult with interior or exterior cable)

2) Improve your wifi signal at the location of the V6's and preferably use the 5GHz band. There are lots of suggestions on this forum of how to do that.

3) Use a pair of good quality Powerline adapters (if your house circuitry is suitable) with short Cat6 cables - my lad has a pair of these for his gaming PC and xbox and they deliver a perfect connection for him.

EDIT: Sorry should have added - it helps if you turn off the V6 and unplug it for 5' and then restart it - then it remakes the network connection.  It might also help to move the V6's - just a foot or so up/down/sideways can make a big difference - a bit like with indoor TV ariels.

[peaches]

Thanks for the reply John, I really appreciate it.

The permanent cable is not an option for now.  We've switched it off for long periods and it still reports 'network cable disconnected' but I'll get mum to move the V6 around to see if that helps.

I've just had a look at Powerline adapters, they seem in short supply at the mo, but do you mean the ones with the plug sockets or not? Do we just plug them in and attach the Cat6 cables?

Thanks again.

[jbrennand]

Yes - the electrical circuits MUST be connected. Mine are - the two circuits are actually separate - i.e. the upstairs and downstairs power circuits do have separate "fuses" but they go through the same consumer unit and that works just fine.
Ours are "Solwise" ones - the link is to the "same" make now.  Other makes will work just as well. I would advise getting ones with a "pass-through" plug socket, is 1200AV or more and also has 2 ethernet ports - also watch for whether the ethernet cables come out up or down - if down there may be problems with sockets that are close to floorboards.

One unit plugs in near the Hub (or router) and the other near the device. They are then each connected to the Hub and device by short Cat6 cables. Dont use extension leads they should be straight into the power sockets - hence pass-through is good.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AZTECH-SmartLink-PowerLine-HomePlug-Passthrough/dp/B01LHVP2JO/

[Steve_S]

Good morning,

Having read your original post and what you've already had them try, do you think they'd be able to attempt reconnecting the box with your guidance manually?

If so, could you get them to do the following steps and have both their 'Wifi Name' and 'Wifi Passphrase' ready:

Home > Help & Settings > Settings > Network > Change Network Settings > Connect to Wifi Network > Choose the name from the list matching their Wifi Name > Enter their Wifi Passphrase.

This should force the box to remember the connection, I've had it on occasion where the boxes just need to be reminded.

Hope this gets them sorted, let me know either way. 🙂

Steve